Month: April 2023

Recently, Bud Light debuted a new ad campaign featuring trans activist and TikTok star Dylan Mulvaney. Anheuser-Busch has consequently come under fire (literally) from Kid Rock, who expressed his dissatisfaction with the partnership by shooting some rounds into Bud Light cans. Now, Travis Tritt, a Grammy-winning country star whose commercial and critical peak came in the ’90s, has joined the conversation.

On Twitter yesterday (April 5), Tritt declared he’s boycotting Anheuser-Busch, writing, “I will be deleting all Anheuser-Busch products from my tour hospitality rider. I know many other artists who are doing the same.” He added, “Other artists who are deleting Anheuser-Busch products from their hospitality rider might not say so in public for fear of being ridiculed and cancelled. I have no such fear.”

He also shared a graphic showing a bunch of Anheuser-Busch brands, including Budweiser, Stella Artois, Rolling Rock, and many others. Additionally, he made note of a campaign Jack Daniels had with drag queens.

Tritt later added, “In full disclosure, I was on a tour sponsored by Budweiser in the 90’s. That was when Anheuser-Busch was American owned. A great American company that later sold out to the Europeans and became unrecognizable to the American consumer. Such a shame.”

Of the Mulvaney partnership, an Anheuser-Busch spokesperson recently said, “Anheuser-Busch works with hundreds of influencers across our brands as one of many ways to authentically connect with audiences across various demographics.”

(WARNING: Spoilers for this week’s episode of Snowfall will be found below.)

Last week’s episode of Snowfall was dedicated to loss, mourning, and survival. The Saints were still reeling from Jerome’s death and some were doing better than others. Franklin was affected by the loss, but continued forward as business still needed to be taken care of. Louie was absolutely distraught, but to the surprise of no one, revenge was heavy on her mind. Others like Cissy and Leon also took Jerome’s death close to heart, but if anything, it made them want peace in their worlds now more than ever. Last week’s episode also saw Franklin and Gustavo inch closer to beginning their plan to take down Teddy, and while that went down, Louie left us on a bit of a cliffhanger as we had no idea who she would go after in the name of Jerome. Would it be Franklin or would it be Teddy?

Well, in the eighth episode of Snowfall season six, we get an answer to that. During the repast for Jerome’s funeral, Louie reluctantly agrees to keep her promise to Franklin and help take down Teddy with some assistance from Gustavo. The plan is to trick Teddy into thinking that Louie is giving up Franklin to him, all for Gustavo to arrive and help take down Teddy. Naturally, things don’t go according to plan after Teddy makes a few requests that make it harder for them to execute, but it’s when Gustavo is arrested by the DEA that it appears that all was lost. Luckily for them, the KGB agent arrives to break Gustavo free and take him to Teddy’s warehouse where Franklin is nearly hanging with a cable tied around his neck. By the grace of the powers that be, Gustavo is able to take out the KGB agent and handcuff Teddy to safely free Franklin to make their plan a near success.

Here are some of the biggest takeaways that we have after season six’s eighth episode, “Ballad Of The Bear”:

If Only Franklin And Louie Put Their Issues Aside Earlier

For the first time all season, Franklin and Louie are working together to complete a mission. Granted, neither of them wants to work with the other, but despite a few bumps and detours in the plan, things work in their favor. After Gustavo is placed under arrest by the DEA, the KGB agent, who’s been seemingly following them all day, attacks the DEA officers to break Gustavo free and bring him to Franklin and Teddy. To the KGB agent’s surprise, Gustavo turns on him and kills him to set free a tied-up Franklin. This is essentially the plan Franklin, Gustavo, and Louie had in mind: to trick Teddy is coming out of his hiding place so that Franklin could kill Teddy. Seeing that it worked, or so we hope it did, it makes you wonder what could’ve been accomplished and what lives could’ve been saved if Franklin and Louie stuck together. Maybe things were just meant to break apart, but still, it’s something worth thinking about.

Gustavo Was Ready To Fail, Franklin Was Not

One million dollars and new passports. That’s what Gustavo required of Franklin for him to give up Teddy and risk any protection from the CIA, DEA, or KGB. Franklin agreed, and granted that price was more than what the aforementioned agencies were willing to offer Gustavo to give up Teddy. That asking price was also not for Gustavo himself, but for his family, who he shipped away in the first half of episode eight. When we exam the moments of defeat between them in this episode — Gustavo under arrest in the back of a DEA agent’s vehicle and Franklin dangling above the ground with a cable wire around his neck — you can see a slight difference in their demeanor. Gustavo doesn’t appear to be as worried as Franklin whose inner fear scream at high volumes in eyes. That’s because Gustavo was ready to fail and prepared to do so, by making sure his family escaped the possible grasp of the DEA. Franklin’s own remained in Los Angeles, vulnerable to whatever damages were absorbed in this failed plan. The thing with Franklin is, the thought of failure didn’t seem to enter his mind. There was always a way out, but through luck and some sort of a plan, things once again fell in his favor. In this case, it appears that Franklin’s refusal to fail worked just as well for him as Gustavo’s preparation to fail worked for him.

Teddy Overestimated His Powers

Let’s just assume that Teddy did kill Franklin’s father, just for the sake of this section. You would think maybe Teddy would’ve realized that he bit off just a little more than he could’ve chewed. But nope, next came stealing Franklin’s $73 million and turning half of his family against him. By season six, you got the sense that Teddy believed he was this impenetrable force. Yet, as he stood handcuffed to a forklift in the warehouse he planned to kill Franklin in, the realization that he is far from the force he believed he was begins to settle in. As Franklin looks at him while pondering his next move, Teddy is forced to accept that he is no longer the top dog. If we’re honest though, Teddy’s true power was only his government status. His ability to get Franklin and other families out of sticky situations and provide money, drugs, and arms gave the Saints a true once-in-a-lifetime opportunity which they indulged in over the last six seasons. And despite all of that, Teddy was alone in Los Angeles. If things were to go left for him, like they did in episode eight, there was no nearby backup. There was no guardian angel. He’d committed the same amount of wrongs that anyone he worked with did. The difference is, he had no family or nearby associates to come save him unlike Franklin. When it was needed, Gustavo and Louie were there to save Franklin and that wasn’t the case for Teddy. In the end, he’d simply overestimated his powers.

Franklin And Louie’s Relationship Ends Here

This isn’t much of a surprise truthfully, but with the way their relationship once was, it’s worth noting. From this point on, Franklin and Louie’s relationship will be as good as nonexistent. Yes, they saved each other’s lives with the presumed takedown of Teddy, but it was a mission they both had an equal hand in. It certainly doesn’t make up for Jerome’s death, something that Louie will forever hold over Franklin’s head. When Franklin requests Louie’s help to take down Teddy, her response is yes only because she also wants to be free from Teddy, not because she has it in her heart to help Franklin. With the nod of the head from Franklin, Louie storms back off to who knows where before they, along with Gustavo, reunite to set their plan in motion. The Saint family that was once new is no more, and any potential of a reunion is as good as any of us hitting the lottery simply because the leaders — Franklin and Louie — won’t see eye to eye, at least not anytime soon. There’s only two episodes left in the Snowfall series, so it remains to be seen what things look like for Franklin and Louie going forward.

New episodes of ‘Snowfall’ are available on FX on Wednesdays at 10pm EST/ PST.

Movies are awfully long these days. The long-awaited first Avatar sequel was even longer than the quite long original. Most comic book movies average about two-and-a-half hours. Even the fourth John Wick — whose first entry was a lean 100 minutes, all about a guy killing everyone because some shnook killed his puppy — clocked in at nearly three hours. So what about Air, the movie about the creation of a shoe? Is it another movie that could use an intermission?

The answer is nope. It “only” runs 112 minutes. That’s almost a short film in this era of butt-numb-a-thons. Granted, even that may seem long if you don’t think a movie about a shoe sounds all that interesting. But for most it may be a perfect length — enough to get into the nitty gritty of a surprisingly fascinating (and entertaining!) subject, not so long that you’ll have to consider what you drink or eat beforehand lest you risk missing something good when you nip off to the restroom.

Air is also a Mulligan for director-star Ben Affleck and his co-star Matt Damon. Back in 2021, the Good Will Hunting boys reunited for The Last Duel, which took them back to Medieval France. (That one ran a whopping 153 minutes, but it also had to tell the same story from three very different perspectives, the conclude with the titular duel.) This one too runs the chance of being unfairly ignored by multiplex viewers, who have been primed over the last decade-plus to only turn out in droves for blockbusters. But maybe the draw of Michael Jordan — who’s never even depicted in it on-screen — combined with some stunning ’80s looks can get people out.

In Air, Affleck, who hasn’t directed a movie since the poorly received gangster pic Live by Night, plays Sonny Vaccaro, the cocky sports marketing exec brought in by Nike honcho Phil Knight (Damon) to save a floundering Nike. Affleck, who didn’t write it, demanded Viola Davis play Jordan’s mom.

Air is now in theaters. And when you throw in trailers, you should be out of the theater roughly 130 minutes after you arrive.

FTR pinned the Gunns to become the new AEW tag team champions in the Titles vs. Career main event of Dynamite from Long Island.

The match opened with Austin and Colten using classic tag team wrestling to beat down on Cash Wheeler and keep him away from Dax Harwood. Harwood eventually got the hot tag and took the action to The Gunns. Harwood and Wheeler tagged in and out, eventually hitting the Shatter Machine, but Colten pulled the referee out to avoid the three count.

After a series of false finishes, Austin attempted to get a disqualification with a low blow on Harwood. When that didn’t work, Austin and Colten hit 310 to Yuma on Wheeler to get him out of the ring, and when Harwood went for a diving headbutt, he learned that Colten slid a belt into the ring and hit him with it for a close two count.

But ultimately, both Harwood and Wheeler were able to roll up the Gunns, with both wrestlers getting three counts as a result.

In January, Harwood discussed Tony Khan allowing the duo to take time away to “sit back, reflect, decide” on where they’d sign their next deal with their contracts set to expire.

“By April, we will have an answer. I have to take my health, my family, my creativity, and I have to take my personal life all in consideration about what we’re going to do next. I know what I want to do, but whatever we do, I just want to be respected,” Harwood said at the time, per TJR Wrestling. “I feel we have done something so special in 2022 and most of that is in part to the fans. We deserve to continue to build on our legacy for ourselves, but also we owe it to the fans to build on that legacy because they made us this past year. I’m not sure exactly how long we’ll be away. It may be all the way until the end of our contract. Our contract is up in April.”

There’s no question where FTR’s future lies now, with a clear path forward in AEW.

Five years after ALL IN became the launching pad for All Elite Wrestling, the promotion is making its highly-anticipated UK debut in London on Sunday, August 27, at All In from Wembley Stadium.

“The UK is one of the most important markets in professional wrestling, and AEW is coming in hot as the number one wrestling company in the UK on television,” said AEW CEO Tony Khan via a press release. “We want our debut in London to be epic in scale, and there’s no better venue than Wembley Stadium to deliver what I know will be one of the greatest events in AEW’s history. This April also marks 100 years of Warner Bros. and 100 years of Wembley Stadium – it’s a fitting time to come together for ‘AEW: All In London at Wembley Stadium.’”

Details from the press release announce All In London will be a homecoming for several top stars including AEW Women’s World Champion Jamie Hayter, Saraya, Nigel McGuinness, Pac, Anthony Ogogo, and more.

AEW’s move to bring wrestling back to Wembley comes after WWE saw incredible success hosting Clash at the Castle in Cardiff, Wales. Wembley also played host to one of the most iconic Intercontinental championship matches in WWE history, when British Bulldog won the championship from Bret Hart in 1992.

Sting and Shaggy appeared on The Breakfast Club in March 2018. About six minutes into the conversation, Sting was asked about rappers who have requested clearances to sample his songs, including Diddy.

“Is it true that Diddy has to pay you two grand a day because he didn’t ask permission to sample [The Police’s] ‘Every Breath You Take’?” Charlamagne Tha God asked about Diddy’s 1997 No. 1 single “I’ll Be Missing You.”

“Yeah, for the rest of his life,” Sting jokingly responded. “If it’s on the radio, then it must be true!” he said before clarifying that Diddy actually did ask for permission at some point. Sting said he and Diddy were “very good friends now” and wasn’t “at all” upset about the sample. In fact, he was “very happy” because “it was a beautiful version of that song.”

A 22-second snippet of the exchange circulated on Twitter on Wednesday, April 5, and Diddy chimed in, writing, “Nope. 5K a day. Love to my brother @OfficialSting!”

The truth probably resides somewhere in the middle, but regardless, Sting isn’t relying on extra cash from Diddy or anyone else. The New York Times broke the news in February 2022 that Sting sold his solo recording catalog and The Police songwriting catalog to Universal Music Group for an estimated $300 million.

A lot of far right figures are currently caught up in legal hell. Donald Trump just showed up in a Manhattan courtroom to be arraigned. Meanwhile, the network that disseminated some of his and cronies’ voter fraud nonsense has a trial right around the corner. The pricey Fox News-Dominion case is set to begin on April 17, and some big names have already been called to testify, including stars Tucker Carlson and Sean Hannity. Now they’ve added some even bigger big wigs.

As per The New York Times, Judge Eric M. Davis announced that if Dominion were to call Rupert Murdoch, chairman of Fox Corporation, he“would not quash it.” In fact, he “would compel them to come.” As it happens, Dominion lawyers have said they’d want not only Murdoch to show up, but also his son Lachlan as well as Paul Ryan, the former speaker of the House and current Fox board member.

Murdoch would be an almost certainly damning witness in the trial, especially given that during a deposition earlier this year, he admitted he knew the voter fraud mishegoss his stars were spouting on air was bull. It’s one thing for stars like Hannity and Carlson to have been caught admitting they knew they were deceiving Fox News viewers. But the big kahuna knowing it and letting it happen anyway? That’s probably not going to be great for Fox News’ case.

Murdoch is a good get for Dominion, as are Hannity and Carlson, and the same goes for other hosts who are expected to take the stand, including Jeanine Pirro, Breit Baier, Dana Perino, and Maria Bartiromo. Lou Dobbs, who left the network last year, is on the docket, too. Fox News originally said their on-air hosts should not have to testify at the trial because they all sat for video depositions. They changed their tune on Tuesday, offering them up for more rounds of questioning.

So get ready for a lot of conservatives winding up in court, where they may have to reap what they allegedly sowed.

(Via NYT)

The Montreux Jazz Festival is shaping up to be the ultimate Venn diagram for music fans. The festival’s lineup was revealed today, April 5, and boasts Bob Dylan, Lil Nas X, Sam Smith, Jon Batiste, Janelle Monáe, Gayle, Ayra Starr, Rema, Ava Max, Wet Leg, and more still.

As part of the announcement, Montreux Jazz Festival clarified that Bob Dylan’s show on July 1 “will be in a seated configuration to reflect the intimate atmosphere of his tour,” limiting availability. An insider pre-sale was held Wednesday, and the public sale is scheduled for tomorrow, April 6. Ticketing information can be found here.

Billboard noted that this will mark Dylan’s first appearance at the festival “in a decade,” and he will perform songs off his 2020 album Rough And Rowdy Ways.

The Montreux Jazz Festival will be held at Auditorium Stravinski and Montreux Jazz Lab on Lake Geneva, Switzerland. It’s set to open on June 30, with Tom Odell and Simply Red at Auditorium Stravinski and Jimi Jules and Rufus Du Sol at Montreux Jazz Lab.

Lil Nas X is scheduled to take over Auditorium Stravinski on July 4, followed by Sam Smith on July 5, and Generation Sex and Iggy Pop on July 6. Montreux Jazz Lab will be occupied by Gayle, Cavetown, and Caroline Polachek on July 3, followed by Ayra Starr and Rema on July 4.

Mavis Staples, Norah Jones, Maluma, Seal, Buddy Guy, Nile Rodgers, Stacey Ryan, Calum Scott, Dean Lewis, Christine And The Queens, Ethan Bortnick, Maisie Peters, Lovejoy, Idles, Jacob Banks, and Mark Ronson are also scheduled to perform between June 30 and July 15.

View the full schedule below.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

The Atlanta Hawks are trying to figure out what they’re going to need to do to make the postseason this year. Entering Wednesday night’s slate of games, Atlanta sat in the 8-seed in the Eastern Conference, and while they need a miracle to get up to the 6-seed, the more likely answer is their path will take them through the play-in. Of course, the objective there is to get the 7 or 8-seed, so the team will have two chances to win one game in order to make it to the postseason.

Fortunately for the Hawks, Wednesday’s game in Atlanta was against a Washington Wizards team that they’ve beaten twice already this season and is eliminated from postseason contention. At the bare minimum, the game is going to end up being remembered because Clint Capela did something completely ludicrous to register a steal.

Jordan Goodwin drove to the rim, where he was promptly met by the big fella. While he originally looked like he wanted to go up for a layup, he tried to wrap around Capela for a pass to someone else. It never got there, though, because Capela threw his arm out and managed to steal the ball.

It is unclear how Capela did this, but regardless, it is very impressive.

Indigo De Souza is inching closer to the April 28 release of her album All Of This Will End, and on Wednesday, she processed the end of a toxic relationship in her video for “You Can Be Mean.”

“I wrote ‘You Can Be Mean’ about a brief toxic experience I had with a manipulative and abusive LA model f*ckboy. However brief, it had a life-long impact on my understanding of self,” De Souza wrote in a statement posted on Instagram. “Leading up to that experience, I had a history of putting myself in toxic situations and pining for validation from people who treated me poorly. I was stuck in some delusion that I could help abusive people through their trauma and teach them to love me in the way I deserved. I wrote this song when I finally realized that I could choose not to allow harmful behavior into my life, and that there is a deep, deep importance in protecting the body and spirit.”

She continued, “I stopped caring about validation from a**holes, stopped thinking it was my responsibility to help them, and started caring for myself in a real way. Once I made that switch in my psyche, I began to manifest truly loving, safe, kind, and communicative people into my life. Being loved in the way I deserve begins with loving myself in the way I deserve. Boundaries are so important. The body is a sacred and fragile thing and it deserves every ounce of care.”

De Souza spoke with Uproxx about her mindset while writing All Of This Will End last month.

“I was living alone and I had a lot of time on my hands because we were in lockdown,” she said. “Everything was in this standstill, and I was watching all of the systems that I’d been surrounded by my whole life fall apart, and people that said they knew what they were doing didn’t know what they were doing. It felt like this huge veil was lifted off America, and we were just seeing everything for what it has been the whole time but it’s been hiding itself. It was just so ugly.”